Anyone else take bezodiazepams (Ativan, Valium, etc) for AS?

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I currently take Ativan, (a bezodiazepam), 0.5 (half a milligram) at a low dosage 3x daily as needed. It helps with my aspergers, anxiety and preventing some meltdowns, reduces some sensory overload and works within 20-30 min after taken. It doesn't make me feel doped up as other medicines have and helps me sleep at night time. With it being the lowest dosage it has less potential to be addictive as many state bezodiazepams can be addictive, as my dr stated, it can be addictive if not following what the dr says or taking extra pills, which I do not do and I have nothing to worry about. It also helps with panic attacks and anxiety attacks and I show no signs of addiction to Ativan and have taken it off and on for a few years when I felt my anxiety were extreme I've went back to the dr and never had any withdrawal symptoms or problems going off the medication. I know many have this fear but I think it's just a fear and it's worthwhile looking into. Even though I get it three times daily, I can take it once or twice if I need it, it's totally up to me and if someone notices my stress up, they will ask me nicely did you take your medicine today? I have been told by family im not as overwhelmed as I use ro be and I even noticed an improvement with confidence and doing chores I use to let go due to stress and overload. Your thoughts? Anyone else take this medication or other benzodiazepams Ativan, Xanax, Klonopin, or Valium?

I don't have an official AS diagnosis but i have a script for Xanax 0.5mg 2 times daily as needed. I generally take 0-2 before going to bed. Most days I dont take any, but I will take 1 or 2 before going to bed If I have work the next day or i am under a lot of stress to prevent my mind from racing and keeping me up all night.

I got the script while I was in nursing school for Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Amphetamine Induced Anxiety (I take vyvanse 50mg on days that I work or days that I had class). I wouldn't want to take benzos at work and the vyvanse reduces my anxiety and helps me focus on work/ study during the day.

I have a prescription for Xanax, 0.25 mg x3 daily. It almost completely cured me of my GAD. I used to only take it x2 daily, but after a couple of years, I increased it to x3 because I started building up a resistance to it. I think that was it, because I was very irritable every day for no reason, and once I went to x3 Xanax per day, the irritability completely disappeared.

I was on Valium for a little while at the end of last year and found it really helpful. Unfortunately my GP stopped the prescription out of fear of dependency issues. I now take lamotrigine as a mood stabiliser (200mg/day divided dose), amisulpride (100mg/day divided dose) to deal with anxiety and promethazine (50mg at night) to help me quiet things down so I can sleep. If I am particularly anxious or panicky I can either take an additional amisulpride or promethazine as required.

I had a really severe panic attack / meltdown last week and was prescribed ativan .5 mg 1-2 times daily as needed. I've been trying to only take them when i am on the verge of a panic attack, but when i take one, i feel relaxed and pretty calm mentally for a few hours, but then once it wears off (maybe six to eight hours later) i feel ridiculously worse, all tense and wound up, and i don't know if i should be taking one in the morning and one at night to just keep me from going off the rails. Normally i try to space them out by 24 hrs so i don't get too dependent, but i don't know if by doing so it's making it harder on me, or if i'm having an adverse reaction. When they're out of my system i feel so much more agitated than i was before i was prescribed them. Any advice? I'm hesitant to stop taking them because they're the only pill that's ever helped me feel better, ever.

[Not official dx]: I get a lot out of gabapentin, which affects GABA indirectly. Even if I can't internally feel it I can observe that my interactions are better/easier. It also has the benefit of not being a scheduled drug, which I also like.

I wonder if this stuff is related to that autistic catatonia phenomenon, since the best drug for that is Ativan (a benzo).

I was on 2mg clonazepam 3X per day at one point and became very addicted to them. It was very hard coming off of them.

Not for AS, but for anxiety.

Alprazolam 0.5MG x 3 daily give or take.

I was surprised how much it helps with me with noisy environments, among other things.

I took Xanax every day for 10 years (3 to 5 mg a day - sometimes more on bad days). It did the job. It made me a bit drowsy at times but it always worked. I gradually weaned myself off completely with lower and lower doses and started implementing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to deal with my anxiety. I took Valium a few times and did not like it as much. It hung with me longer (longer half-life than Xanax, I believe) and made me moodier.

I never had Ativan and I don't know how it compares to Xanax as far as dependence goes. It sounds like you are taking a very small amount and are being very sensible about managing your meds. If it works and it's not interfering with your day to day activities then I would stick with that program. I did benefit from CBT in conjunction with meds.

I take valium for anxiety.

I'm on exactly the same medication and same dosage as you are. It helps a lot - along with 50 mg per day of Zoloft.
Some people will call it chemical dependency. But I think that is intellectually dishonest. I'm dependent on certain medications for my COPD and other medications for acid reflux. I'm taking the medications I need to give me some quality of life as opposed to being a nervous wreck. Also the Ativan keeps me away from overdoing it with booze. Better a controlled substance taken according to some professional guidelines than pouring a burning acidic liquid on an aging and sensitive epithelium.

There is some surprising research that found that clonazepam is more effective for ASD anxiety etc at very low doses than at higher doses.

This has been my experience with it: I take half of a 0.25mg clonazepam tablet a day and have done for a long time. At this level I have not had any addictive effects. Under extreme stress (eg my cat died) I increased it to 0.25mg a day for a short time and this level had no withdrawal effects when I went back to half of a 0.25mg daily dose. It certainly stabilises my anxiety.

Higher doses are well known to be very addictive and withdrawal can be a very unpleasant process.

I take Klonopin when I go out & may take a crowded bus because I feel claustrophobic like on crowded buses. I also sometimes take it to help me sleep. I took it 2/3x a day years ago for a tremor disorder & it had quit having an effect at the time but it works now after being off it for years. I took Ativan occasionally & it makes me shaky.